


Muzzled

by SaliAnon



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-29 19:43:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6390697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaliAnon/pseuds/SaliAnon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After solving the Nighthowler case, things seem to be going fine for officer Judy Hopps and her rookie partner Nick Wilde. But what happens when an unexpected event causes Wilde to go feral, even if it's in defense?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Week after the Event

**Author's Note:**

> So I saw Zootopia today, and being the person I am immediately started wondering what other factors could cause a pred to go feral, and thus this was born. Please leave feedback I've never really done anything like this and would love to hear what you think.
> 
> Also, leave me your suggestion for what should happen next chapter: the incident from Judy's POV, or move on to... something else >;)

Nick didn’t know what happened. Yes, he could follow the chain of events up to and including that fateful moment, but as to what had _happened,_ he was clueless. Fear makes a fox do strange things, it appears- even nearly go savage.

But he had good reason- _right?_ He knows that if he hadn’t acted, then Judy- his best friend, his partner, the love of his life even- she wouldn’t be walking the streets today, she wouldn’t even be alive.

And so what of his consequences? He had protected her, as only a predator could- with claws and teeth and ferocious snarled threats. To him, it had been worth it.

  
It had started a normal day- they’d been out on patrol, like many other days, when a call was put out about an armed suspect holding up a store, hostages and all. They responded, showing up in moments, but what they hadn’t expected was that the robber had a vendetta.

When they’d arrived, he had immediately recognized Judy- who wouldn’t, she was paws-down the most famous officer on the force. He yelled something about her ‘destroying the natural order’ and proceeded to draw a gun on her.

This was the point things went fuzzy for Nick. He remembered hearing the sharp crack of the gun, and the sickening sound of a bullet hitting its mark, alongside a pained cry from Judy. The strong smell of blood hung in the air, and at that point something had _snapped._

He snarled, dropping to all fours over his partner, defending her from anyone who would attempt to approach. The robber had made that mistake, and had well acquainted himself with paws full of sharp claws and teeth built for tearing through flesh. He couldn’t think, couldn’t hear, there was _nothing_ except for the smell of blood and the instinct to **protect.**

  
By the time other officers arrived, they found a feral, snarling fox, paws and muzzle soaked with blood crouched over the injured form of Officer Hopps, the robber crumpled to the ground not far away, bleeding out from multiple claw marks and bites. They managed to muzzle him, restraining him so they could move his partner to a stretcher and get her to a hospital. The criminal was rushed to a hospital as well, and restrained Wilde, who at that point had regained some semblance of lucidity, had panicked, clawing at the muzzle strapped to his face, before the taste of blood made him freeze, raising his paws to inspect them, eyes widening in shock- _what had he done?_ He then seemed to shut down, curling in on himself, his claws previously stained by the blood of the criminal now drew his own, as he clutched frantically at his head, trying desperately to think, to _remember_ \- **what had he done??** He wouldn’t speak to anyone, just made fearful whimpering sounds as he lay there, curled up in a spattered pool of blood.

_-k._

He’d gone feral.

_-ick._

He’d almost killed another animal.

_Nick._

He’d almost killed someone, and he had no idea who- oh god.

**What if it had been Judy?**

_Nick!_

  
The fox awoke in a panic, clawing frantically at a tangle of blankets that had trapped him, completely unaware of his location.

“Nick!” That oh-so-familiar voice, stained with worry caught his attention, his green eyes looking around wildly for the source, latching onto the worried violet gaze of his partner-

“J-Judy?”


	2. One Day after the Event

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having both sides of a story can usually help clear up what happened, but in this case it just makes things more confusing- for everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright well I decided to do a combination of the options I gave last chapter. This fic is going to be mainly driven by your guys' votes, I have a general idea of the plot but the individual chapter subjects will be put here for you guys to vote on.
> 
> So, that being said, next chapter:  
> We can skip a good portion of Judy's getting-out-of-the-hospital bit and skip straight to whatever happened the end of last chapter ~ 
> 
> Or we can skim through her getting used to life again, which would put the events of the end of chapter one in the chapter after next most likely.
> 
> Whichever gets the most votes will be what I go with.

“Ms… Hopps? Miss Hopps, please, I'd like to ask you few questions about what happened, with your… Partner?”  
Judy was pulled out of whatever painkiller-induced haze she'd been in with a wince at the twinge of pain in her shoulder- the bullet had luckily missed any important organs, she'd just have to keep it still for a few weeks. The rabbit looked towards her hospital room visitor, seemingly confused.  
“Miss Hopps, I have a few questions for you- about the fox that attacked you-”  
“I'm going to stop you right there. ‘That fox’ was my _friend_ and my _partner_ , I trust him with my life.” She was surprisingly coherent, given the dreamy state she'd been in mere moments before. “His name is Nick Wilde and he's never done _anything_ to hurt me. He wasn't _attacking_ , he- he-” Her voice broke and she stared down at her paws for a moment, curling her fingers into a claw-like arch, before continuing. “He was protecting me.”  
“Miss Hopps, you've had some experience with feral predators before. How would you describe this event in comparison to your previous encounters?”  
Judy sighed. This was going to be a long while, wasn't it.  
“He wasn't feral- not entirely anyways. It's… Something different. When it happens, you can see in their eyes, but he wasn't like that. He looked… Scared almost, but mostly angry. If he had really… Changed, he would have… h-he would have attacked me. But he _didn't_.”  
She closed her eyes, taking a moment to think.  
_There wasn't even a second between the gun report and a heavy, painful impact to her shoulder. She cried out, the force knocking her flat onto her back as one paw clutched her shoulder. Everything seemed to be either too bright or too dark, but she was able to distinguish the contrast of red fur against her surroundings- Nick. Her partner. But his behavior has changed, it was almost-_  
_If she wasn't struggling to get enough air into her lungs already, she would have gasped. Nick, her partner, her best friend, had dropped to all fours, snarling ferociously at the animal that had shot her- the only time she'd seen him act like this was when they'd confronted Bellwether, he had pretended to be feral after she'd shot him with what she thought to be the serum._  
_But this wasn't an act. The robber took a step closer, gun pointed at her head, and Nick growled deep in his throat before jumping at him, claws and teeth bared to tear through flesh._  
_That animal didn't have a chance against the ferocity of an angered predator. He crumpled, bleeding from multiple lacerations and Nick retreated back to where she lay._  
_She had panicked- if he truly had gone feral, she had absolutely no chance against him- she was wounded, her radio destroyed by the same bullet that had incapacitated her. She scrabbled at the pavement with three paws, trying to back away from him, but he didn't make a move against her, remaining crouched between her and the fallen suspect, as if to protect her.  
After what felt like an eternity- but in reality was probably only a minute or two- backup arrived, two large animals that she unable to recognize in her dazed state, just the uniforms they wore. As she watched, suspended in her strange emotional limbo, they wrestled a muzzle onto her partner- _ no, stop, he was just trying to protect me, this isn't his fault _she wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come. They restrained him, muzzle and chains crisscrossing his bloodstained fur before she was lifted onto a stretcher, and at that point everything went dark._

Judy shook her head to clear it- how long had she been in that flashback? Everything still seemed unreal, from the white room to the pale blue gown she was dressed in to the bandages around her shoulder. She stared out the window, trying to remember where she was.  
_”Did she say anything?”_  
_“Not much. I'll try again tomorrow, when she's not hopped up on painkillers.”  
“Alright. I hope we can get this figured out, Wilde was a wonderful member of the team.”_

 _ **Is**. He **is** a wonderful member of the team._ She thought. _Why are they talking in the past tense?_


	3. One Day after the Event

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick wakes up after the incident with no memory of what had happened and no knowledge of where he is.
> 
> Is there any way to prove that he isn't the monster society thinks he is?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so I've got a rhythm going now, we're gonna alternate between Judy and Nick for a while. This is taking place at about the same time as the previous chapter.
> 
> Also holy crap, this have m hasn't even been up a day and there's already over 400 hits and over 30 kudos wow I'm amazed. Thanks guys, you're all awesome.

Nick awoke in a wild state of panic.  
_Where am I? What happened?_  
His mind flooded with questions, fear and confusion tainting his thoughts as the two most pressing inquiries made their way to the front before being replaced by another, much more immediate.  
_Where's Judy?_  
He flailed about wildly, searching for some clue to his surroundings- _what is that jingling noise? And why does my head feel so heavy?_  
A sickeningly **familiar** pinching sensation clued him in, but he raised his paws to his head just to be sure- thick, strong straps, built to withstand sharpened claws interrupted the familiarly soft feeling of fur. Green eyes widened, and he slowly moved his paws towards his snout, where he found an interlaced web of cold, harsh metal. Tears welled then, and he squeezed his eyes shut to prevent them from falling.  
“No.” He whispered, his voice dry and hoarse. “No no no no _no no no NO NO **NO!**_ What happened? What did I do? Where am I? Why-” his voice broke, devolving into whimpered sobs. “Please, someone, anyone, _answer me_!”  
In his panicked fit, he clawed at the straps holding the muzzle to his face with the faint hope of escaping the cruel restraint, but only managed to painfully snag a claw on the durable material. He yelped, gingerly moving his paw into his field of view to inspect the injury.  
Nick froze, ears pinned flat against his skull. His paw was coated in some crusty dried red-brown substance that flaked when he moved his fingers. A quick glance at the other paw revealed it to be covered as well.  
_Is that…_ He didn't want to finish the thought, raising a paw to his nose and sniffing a few times before gagging suddenly, his stomach doing its best to strangle itself inside him.  
**His paws were covered in blood.**  
Nick shuddered, watching with a morbid sort of mesmerization as he curled his fingers, extending his claws before straightening them out. Each move he made sent more flakes of dried blood falling from his rusty fur onto the ground.  
_”W-what have I d-done?”_ He whispered in horror, slowly curling in on himself, paws clutching at his head as he shook.  
_Filthy no-good fox, isn't that just like a predator?_  
_Who's going to be next? A mother, an innocent child, who knows what a predator will do._  
_All of the savages have been predators, it's got to be something to do with that. They were never really civilized, were they?_  
_Predator. Predator. Predator._  
**_Monster._**  
At that point, he screamed- a long, broken, despairing sound, echoing off the walls and back at him in a mockery of his suffering.  
No he had to get out had to prove he was better he had to find out what happened he had to see her. His friend. The only one who'd ever trusted him, she had to be okay, she _had_ to, he couldn't have-  
His train of thought broke off with a sharp tug around his throat. He hadn't even noticed, but he'd suddenly tried to leap away from the wall he was huddled against, taking up the minimal slack in a chain previously gone unnoticed that attached him to the wall by collar around his neck.  
He was trapped, collared and chained and muzzled like a dangerous criminal- like a _feral_ , he hissed silently before collapsing in a broken heap.

Maybe he really _was_ nothing more than a killer.


	4. Two Days After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy returns home to an empty, quiet apartment, and begins to formulate a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's not a lot happening here honestly but oh well.

She was clear to leave the hospital finally, with a bottle of prescription painkillers- to be taken as needed- and strict instructions to take it easy for the next few weeks, her shoulder was still healing and any excessive exertion could aggravate the injury.  
Judy Hopps was not a ‘take it easy’ kind of rabbit. The first thing she did upon returning to her apartment- not the tiny one-room place she'd first rented, Nick and she had found a nice place and lived together as roommates, which was nice, but today the silence made her heart ache- was to call Clawhouser.  
“Y’ello!” The cheerful greeting made her smile slightly, despite her decidedly unpleasant mission.  
“Hey, it's me. Judy. Um, could you do something for me?” She asked, biting her lip nervously.  
A small gasp echoed down the line. “Judy! How are you, are you doing okay?” The cheetah asked, his voice tinged with concern.  
“I'm doing fine, I'll be back before you know it.” She replied, walking over to sit down on the couch. “Hey, do you think you could, um- do you know where he is?” A faint note of desperation crept into her voice with the question.  
Clawhouser sighs, and Judy's heart plummets.  
“Sorry… I don't know. Nobody does, if they do they're not telling. But if I had to guess-”  
“Thank you. D-don't worry about it, it's not your fault.” She said, surprised by the appearance of tears in her eyes. “Bye.”  
After hanging up she sat there on the couch, staring at her phone for who knows how long. Finally she looked up, shivering slightly- it had cooled off, probably because of the setting sun. She grabbed a sweatshirt that was thrown over the arm of the couch, pulling it over her head and rolling the sleeves back to free her paws- it was much too big, and smelled like _him_ , which hurt, but also strangely helped.  
She had somewhere she needed to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~yes she's wearing Nick's hoodie I love watching you guys suffer~~
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> Please leave a comment, I legitimately like reading what you guys have to say!


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